A Gentle Dawning
by Glass-and-Turpentine
Summary: A cute little fluffy one shot revolving around the lives of Asuka and Shinji after the Third Impact.


A Gentle reflection

The sunlight crashing through the window caused her red hair to glow softly, and the pale flesh of her neck and arms to seem ethre He smiled at his sleeping wife, reaching over to brush a few strands of her honey/red hair from her gentle face.

It was then that he took a few moments to reflect upon how he had gotten to this place with her.

Flash back

"Where are you going?" he heard himself ask the back of a packing redhead.

"What does it matter?" she answered, tone unusually stiff.

He leaned against the door frame, and gazed half impassively into her emptying room.

"When will you be back?" he inquired, trying to remain calm, as he watched the girl slip a dress into a dress bag, and fold it, neatly placing it into her suit case.

".. I wont be back Ikari, I'm going back to Germany" she stated, finally looking to him.

Her azure eyes held a mixture of emotion, the one she tried to portray the most being: stoicism.

"Oh... To see your family?" he inquired, trying to keep a polite and conversational edge to his voice, it faltered a bit.

"No... Just to.. Be there I suppose" she answered, tone non-chalant. She turned back to her packing. "... Dont take it so hard, you knew I'd be going eventually anyhow" she added.

"Does Misato know?" he asked, taking a step into the room.

"Yeah, I told her last night" she admitted.

"What did she say?" he continued, stopping to stand beside her at the bed.

"What does it matter, I'm 18 now, I can do whatever the hell I want" she noted in a dead pan voice, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.

"What will you do in Germany?" he asked, just wanting to keep conversation with his former piloting partner.

She shrugged again. "... Make a carrer... I dont really know. I just have to get out of this place" she mused.

He felt his brow furrow "Why is that?" he asked.

She snorted. " Isn't it obvious? There is no place for me here... Nobody cares about the Second Child, its all about the Invincible First and Third Child... I tanked, and there's nothing I can do to repair my reputation" she said smoothly, hand guestures eloquant.

_Somehow she didnt sound quite so bothered about it... Just tired._

"Thats not true, people still talk about you" he offered. She smiled.

"Yes... They talk about the mind rape all the time. They talk about the quarentine.." she corrected, closing the suitcase and buckling it shut.

"Asuka..." he sighed.

"What? I cant stand being somewhere where everyone thinks I'm some loon. I couldn't even pilot the Eva Shinji... So.. I just want to go somewhere far from here, where I can disapear" she admitted, looking very tired.

"... Do you need a ride to the airport?"

"... Sure" she answered.

_And a ride to the airport was what he gave her._

Now.. In fairytale stories, he would've stopped her there, right before she boarded the plane, and confessed that he was head over heels in love with her. She would've gotten teary eyed, and admitted that she felt the same. And... She would've stayed.

That wasnt how it happened between them.

"So..." she said, looking from him to the entry port.

"... So?" he replied.

"... I should get going" she admitted, looking down to her wrist watch.

_'Don't go'_

"Yeah.. I guess you should" he answered, feigning a weak smile.

She gave a sunny smile in return, and embraced him. "I'll miss you Baka" she chuckled.

".. I'll miss you too Red Devil" he answered, holding her a little longer than comfortable.

Detaching herself from him she looked back towards the entry port "My flights about to leave" she annonced.

_'Dont go'_

"Yeah... uh.. I'll write you" he promised. She smiled.

"Sure, well... I'll wait for your first letter" she said, turning away.

_'Dont leave me'_

"A-Asuka?" he heard himself say.

_There was a glimmer in her blue eyes, as she turned back to him._

"Yeah?" she asked.

_'Tell her..' _he prodded himself.

"I... Umm.. Uh.. I.." he began.

_The glow in her eyes was growing._

_'Give her a reason to stay Ikari' _

"Yes Shinji?" she inquired, hands twisting in front of her.

_'Tell her how you feel.. Make her stay'_ his inner self suggested.

"...I need your adress" he answered lamely.

_The hope in her eyes died._

"Sure.." she answered, pulling out a pen, she haphazardly scrawled it across a napkin and handed it to him.

_'You idiot...' _his inner self scorned.

"Ja!" Asuka called to him, disapearing from sight amoungst the other flight goers.

"Dont go..." he said helplessly.

_But it was too late.. she was out of hearing range._

_End Flash Back_

In all truth, they hadn't seen eachother for many years after that. In fact, it had took the death of their prior guardian to coax Asuka Himmelsbote (her new last name, after becoming a very famous actress, and dumping the last name Soryu) to her old recluse in Japan.

When he had seen her again, he had hardly recognized the now twenty three year old actress. Sure, she was still red headed and blue eyed... The changes were... Amazing.

Flash back

"Shinji?" she inquired, wide eyed, looking him up and down. "Asuka? Is that really you?" he chuckled in return. She smiled, and twirled around for him to examine her new self.

"I heard youre a doctor now" she said conversationally. He nodded.

"And you, I've seen you prancing all over the silver screen" he answered. She shrugged with a wide grin.

At the same time they both blurted "How have you been?".

"Good, a little.. Tired. But good" she admitted, shifting in the long straight style black dress she wore. The wind blew her short red treses to her softly angled jaw, she reached back to clip her bangs up to the rest of her spiral curls.

"Same here, you couldn't imagine how many teenagers are getting pregnant these days" he chuckled.She smiled softly and looked over to the coffin, a look of sorrow shadowing her blue eyes.

" I heard that you..." she began.

He nodded. "She died.. in the emergency room" he confirmed, his voice cracking a bit.

"Was it from.." she began.

He nodded once more."Cirosis of the Liver..." he replied. (So kiddies, this is why you dont drink).

"I just never thought she would die... I always expected her to be there when I came back" Asuka admitted, tears straying from her eyes to trail the gentle slopes of her cheeks.

"Me too, Asuka, me too" he sighed.

_After the funeral, he had gathered up his courage to ask her to dinner. She agreed with a soft smile, and a knowing look in her eyes._

_And they had reviewed their lives over wine..._

Perhaps too much wine...

"And it was so humiliating!" She laughed, eyes bleary, staggering down the pavement, arm hooked within his.

"What did you do?" he asked, feeling unusually attentive to the red head beside him.

She gave a wide grin, and tossed her head back, a chuckle in the confines of her throat." I took the fur coat, and shredded it right before his eyes. "Take this to your weekend Mistress... And get out of my house!" I told him... And he did go. Now, I'm here" she confirmed, eyes shining.

"He was cheating on you?" Shinji inquired, awestruck. _Why would anyone cheat on someone as beautiful as Asuka?_ She nodded somberly. "Why would he do something like that? I mean, the reporters described your relationship as being 'fated'..." he continued, confused.

She sighed, and smiled softly ".. What happens behind closed doors.. Ikari-Kun.. Is often much different than what the media speaks.. Benjamin... He was... He was Benjamin. Nothing more, nothing less. It was good for a while, but we were never... Close. If you know what I mean" she answered, hands guesturing gracefully about.

" It just doesnt make sense" he admitted slowly, stopping beneath a sakura. She stopped with him, and cocked her head to the side.

"What doesnt make sense? Its human nature. I wasnt expecting it to last much longer anyhow, no chips off my shoulder. The silver screen has a way of corupting relationships, driving one mate against the other for more publicity..." she explained non chalantly.

_Petals falling... gracefully... He would always remember the scent of the blossoms, the scent of Asuka, the twinkle in her blue eyes, and the secret smile playing in the corners of her lips._

"I missed the Sakura Shin-Kun.. " she began, voice slightly distant, as her gaze lowered from the tree to his eyes. "... I missed you" she said simply.

_Falling blossoms, the vannila scent that never left her hair, the deep blue of her eyes, the pink of her lips... Wine and..._

Morning light hit his eyes, and he groaned, the reverberations of a hangover ringing in his head.Glancing at the clock to his left, he blinked a few times.

It read ten thirty four. He was late for work.As he went to sit up, he found that he could not. Something heavy was settled over his chest, and it kept him from rising to shower and dress.

_Something scented of vanilla, something with curled red hair... Someone wearing his dress shirt from last night as a coverup to her bare form._

She yawned, moaned slightly, and moved against him, arm drapped langourously over his chest, face burrowed into his neck. "... Five minutes..." she made out in a sleepy tone.

_'Oh Dear Lord... I slept with Asuka!"_ was the first thing that popped through his head.

The second thing being... That he really had to pee!

Gently setting her on the bed, he rushed to the bathroom to allieviate his bowels. When he returned, she was nowhere in sight. Treking through his apartment, he went in seach of the german actress.

When he found her, she was cooking some sort of food on his stove.

"Morning" she said cheerfully, looking quite adorable in his overly large -on her- shirt. Her hair was torseled, and her complection was rosy.He scratched the back of his neck, and returned the smile.

"Asuka.. about last" he began. She smiled, and spooned some scrambled eggs onto a large plate, turned off the burner, and headed towards him.

"No worries" she stated, setting the food on the table. " And dont you dare get the notion in your head that you somehow took advantage of me in my anibriated state Ikari" she followed.

"But Asuka.. How can you say something like that, women have a lower alchohol tollerence than men do.. I took advantage of you..." he began.

She gave a wicked grin, and stood before him.Leaning in, her lips brushed against his earlobe. "... I may have been a little chatty, but... I wasnt drunk" she answered.

He stumbled back in shock, feeling the solid wall behind him, as she moved in to close the space.Then he found himself in a firm kiss with the actress, not knowing exactly how to approach the situation. Just as he reached to pull her closer, she stepped away with a mirthful smile on her lips.

"Eat your breakfast.. Its getting cold" she said in a mocking motherly tone.

End Flash back

_And after that, they had began to date eachother. Things were good. They weren't perfect.. But they were good._

She roused in the bed beside him, blue eyes opening, to blink away at the morning brightness. ".. Morning... Hon" she yawned, reaching up to stroke his face with her impossibly soft hands. She breathed a breath of relief as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

" Morning" he answered, with a wide, and slightly goofy grin.

_They had been married for three years now... And it had taken some getting used to.. But they were happy.She had given up acting to be with him and..._

" Tanith!" Asuka chuckled, looking to the bedroom door -which coincendentially was open now, to stare at their three year old daughter.

_Tanith Joss Marie Ikari..The most adorable little heathen in existence. An angel with horns and pitchfork._

She had Asuka's red locks and blue eyes, with his complection, nose and musical aptitude (if you could only hear her going at the toddler piano they had purchased earlier that month...).

The bundle of joy-and mischief- threw herself onto the bed -knowing quite well- that someone would catch her before she caused herself harm.

_This was them, their life.. Their place together._And that is how they got there.

Okay, that is my cute little one shot, fluffy fic. I was feeling like I should write something of that variety just because... I really hate the serious lack of good Asuka/Shinji fics. I think given the proper circumstances that they can be a really great couple the author rambles on... . ;; I am seriously A+S all the way! Seriously! . Anyway.. Review please?

And yes, it is quite tragic that I had to kill Misato off to bring the Second and Third child closer together. But, hey, we all knew it was going to happen. I mean, what do you think happens to your liver when you drink that much beer? Its tragic. I'm sorry Ari TT.TT;;

And.. umm.. the rest of the cast.. umm... Well... ;;

And lastly, Himmelsbote means Angel in German.. Just thought you'd like to know.


End file.
